


In His Eyes

by chubnoodle



Series: Meeting Again [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gender-Neutral Summoner | Eclat | Kiran, Other, Pre-Relationship, chapter eight spoilers, kiralfonse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 16:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19479253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chubnoodle/pseuds/chubnoodle
Summary: The Askran prince held his ground as the fallen king advanced, his chin held high. “Alfonse. That is your name.” In the same moment the words were spoken, Kiran stepped fearlessly between the two, Breidablik raised in turn and pointed directly at Lif while the fallen king halted in his steps. His sword, having been poised to cut the prince down, clattered to the floor.





	In His Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Book three, chapter eight spoilers!! You've been warned.

“Lif, wait! A question!” Alfonse called out as the fallen king went to retreat, his hands obscuring a wound. “That’s not your name, is it? Lif? I’m right, aren’t I?”

  
“Alfonse?” Sharena’s voice was barely an octave above a whisper as she looked at her brother, but it was ignored by the Askran prince as he took a step closer towards Lif. 

The fallen king only grunted in response, his head turned away and his back to the small group. Alfonse took that as a sign to continue, that he wasn’t going to be interrupted. “I once thought you were my ancestor- the first Askran king- as you claimed. But that isn’t true, is it? You know Sharena. And it’s not just that you know her. You care for her.” 

Kiran could see the fallen king stiffen, his fingers now digging into the torn armor. “Alfonse..” The summoner tried softly, reaching forward to grasp the prince’s arm. “Wherever you’re headed with this, I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” 

Even Alfonse’s beloved was ignored, he had one thought in mind and he was going to make his point, he continued on as if Kiran wasn’t even there. “That means you are of our era, not the distant past. And you can open gates, like all Askran royalty.”

Kiran could feel the slight tremble in their partner’s frame now, beneath the armor. Where was Alfonse going with this?

Lif grunted again, his eyes still trained somewhere ahead of him. “So?” 

“So, all that being true, there is only one person you might be. I know your name. Your real name.” 

“Silence!” Lif snapped, turning on his heel, his eyes wide with urgency and there was a hint of panic in them, Kiran noted. 

The Askran prince held his ground as the fallen king advanced, his chin held high. “Alfonse. That is your name.” In the same moment the words were spoken, Kiran stepped fearlessly between the two, Breidablik raised in turn and pointed directly at Lif while the fallen king halted in his steps. His sword, having been poised to cut the prince down, clattered to the floor. 

Kiran did not lower their weapon, their expression hidden by the hood of their white and gold cloak. Everything was tense in that moment, weapons were halfway drawn, ready for another fight until Alfonse had revealed the fallen king’s true name. The only noise was the sound of Lif’s heavy breathing, his eyes darker and almost obscured by his dull hair. 

The similarities were there, Kiran thought to themselves, eyes softening and their arm lowering slightly as they studied the fallen king’s features. The same gold tipped blue hair they had come to love so much in Alfonse was duller and faded in Lif’s hair, as if the life had been sucked from it. 

“Alfonse, are you sure?” Even with how quiet Sharena’s voice was, everyone in the small company startled when the silence was broken.

“Quite.” Came his clipped response, the Askran prince’s gaze still locked on the fallen king. 

Before anyone could react, with Kiran’s guard being down as they were lost in their own world, Lif surged forward to snatch the summoner up by their neck, effortlessly lifting them off the ground. “It’s true!” He snarled, watching as Kiran kicked blindly and clawed at his hands, suffocating in the king’s grasp. “I’m you, Alfonse. I’m the you that was taken by Hel herself once she wrecked havoc throughout Askr, tearing down anything and everyone in her way.”

“Let Kiran go!” Alfonse demanded, drawing Fólkvangr once more in warning. “This is between you and I!”

The fallen king ignored the prince, only further tightening his grip. “She murdered Sharena in front of my eyes, took her life as if it were nothing more than a joke to her.” Lif continued on, his voice loud and angry, his gaze trained on Kiran’s face. “She killed my summoner-” His voice cracked on the last word, his intense gaze wavering as he tightened his grip once more before releasing Kiran altogether, as if their skin was scorching hot.

Alfonse rushed forward as the summoner collapsed to the floor limply, pulling his partner into his lap and trying to scoot as far away as possible. Kiran was unconscious, but their chest was faintly rising and falling beneath their heavy cloak.

“My summoner, my poor, poor Kiran.” Lif whispered as he hunched over, one hand covering half of his face. His eyes were crazed with grief and what looked like tears were forming in them. “She stole the life from everything that mattered to me, I had nothing more to live for.” 

“Alfonse, I’m.. I’m so sorry that happened to you, I can’t imagine the amount of pain she put you-” 

“No! You can’t! You never will! This is the reality where she wins, where life is snuffed out! You will be safe from the clutches of death in your own reality.” Lif snarled, his voice strained and taut with raw emotion. All is silent for a few moments, no one knowing how to respond to the fallen king’s outburst. He lets out an agonizing groan, as if someone had stabbed him before he falls to his knees in front of the two. When Lif looks up his red eyes are dull and full of grief, a longing that no one can understand. That gaze is trained on Alfonse. “I am sorry for what she has done thus far, Hel is cruel and unrelenting. I do not wish what has happened to me to befall on you.”

Lif reached out slowly, his gaze now falling to the summoner in the prince’s lap. Alfonse pulled the summoner tighter against himself, wary of what the fallen king was about to do. 

Lif was gentle and slow with this movements, his shoulders drooping as he dragged his cold hand across the exposed skin of Kiran’s arm. “You must protect them with your life. For if I fail, she will come for them. She will try and break you.” 

Alfonse’s expression twisted into one of confusion, his eyebrows furrowed. “If you fail?”

  
The fallen king was silent as his touch lingered, gently gripping the summoner’s fingers in his own. Alfonse watched, now understanding that he was dealing with the grief of losing his own Kiran. _How long had it been since then? Since Lif’s summoner had died?_

“I have nothing left to lose if I fail, I am the only one who should go against her. Promise me you will protect them.” Lif whispered, his eyes no longer visible to Alfonse. 

“I don’t-”

  
“Promise me!” Lif snapped, his form further collapsing in on himself, visibly pained as he gripped the unconscious summoner’s fingers.

“I promise, Alfonse.” The Askran prince relented, but he didn’t need to uphold any promise. He would always protect Kiran, up until his last breath he would protect his partner. Something told Alfonse that Lif had done the same.  
The fallen king nodded, finally appeased as he stood up and took one last look at Kiran. He was silent, no other words came out of Lif as he turned and walked out of the library. No one had the heart to stop him, to ask him where he was going, what he was going to do now. 

“You trust him?” Sharena asked, kneeling down by her brother’s side as Nanna rushed forward to tend to Kiran, the summoner still unconscious with deep purple marks forming around his neck. 

Alfonse was trapped in his own thoughts, trying to imagine the pain his counterpart had to be going through. He had lost so much important to him, he had thought he had nothing left to fight for anymore. Alfonse had watched how gentle and caring Lif had been after his outburst, how sad he looked. Alfonse realized Lif now had a reason to keep fighting, he had something to protect now, Alfonse’s future. Kiran. 

Alfonse reached down to hold Kiran’s hand in his own, the same way Lif had minutes earlier. “Something tells me I have no choice but to trust him.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Lif, by deafult, is now entitled to the same treatment as Alfonse bc he is Alfonse. Which means I can't wait for him to be released as an obtainable unit, as angsty and evil as he is. This is just my little take on chapter eight and is by no means true in any way, the dialogue at the beginning is though.
> 
> thanks for reading !! <3


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